As a Human Biology major, evolution and human variability is a popular conversation topic. Although it is *human* biology, we have discussed the example of the moths that was also brought up in one of the videos. A lot of the examples we talk about are usually about animals. I am not sure if this is because it is easier than talking about groups of people or not. I thought the lactase deficiency example was really interesting, made a lot of sense, and is an easy way to talk about evolution and variability in humans. I think that when most people mention these topics they often think of physical characteristics and when a lot of people in today’s society choose to reject science in multiple ways it is hard to have conversations like this. 

In many of my classes, like biology or physiology, we regularly discuss genetics and why people are different, however, I do not think we talk too much about human evolution. We talk about the basics like how we relate to other primates but rarely do we discuss why we evolved, how we evolved, and why that is important. In a biology class we might talk about natural selection, genetic drift, and how we relate to primates. In an anatomy or physiology class we might talk about how our bodies work and what benefits there are in doing things in such a way. In a chemistry class we might not talk about variability at all but about how the atmosphere and plants changed in a way that was conducive to human life. All of these things are pieces of a larger puzzle and we talk about things in such a broad scope and so nothing we learn about is too specific or in depth. I wish we talked more about why there is variability between groups of people and within a group. 

This week’s videos and readings did not challenge my view of my field too much, if anything I wonder about what more we could be doing to have these conversations that could be applied to a larger scale. The majority of this week’s content reflected what we learn pretty accurately. Many people with my major plan to go to medical school or graduate school in hopes of a career where they can help others. In addition to our science classes, I think there should be more arts and humanities or anthropology requirements to apply our learnings of evolution and variability to “real-world” issues such as climate change and racism. If we are going to help others it is important to not only understand how and why we came to be but also where we go from here. How our evolution has impacted each other and the planet is equally important. 

Anthropologists work to understand social interactions and why we do things in different ways to achieve the same goals. If anthropology requirements were in place for Human Biology majors I think the major would be more holistic and beneficial to those exploring careers that directly impact others.